Although everything may appear predictable, the reality is that life can change in an instant. In fact, it changes in every instant, but you just don't notice it. Spring is coming and the leaves are growing—they are not the same as they were yesterday...nor are you. We lived next to a river and walked beside it each day. But as much as it looked like the same river, even the same water, it was constantly changing as it flowed into the sea. Just as you may look the same, but the cells in your body are constantly being formed, growing and dying—you are constantly changing as you renew yourself in every minute.

You can stay open to these moments of change by simply being aware of them. Right now, just stop and take a deep breath. As you breathe out, just notice how your body feels, the chair you are sitting on, the room you are in. That's all. It takes only a moment to be in the present.

Contrary to common belief, it can be immensely liberating to have nothing going on but this very moment: To discover that this whole world, this whole universe, is contained in this moment. To realize that nothing more is required of you than to just be fully here, aware and present. What a relief! Finally, you can experience this reality just as it is, without expectation, prejudice or longing, and without the desire for something to be different. Someone once asked Ed if he had ever experienced another dimension. He replied, "Have you experienced this one?"

Simply being still in this moment—without attachment to, or thought of, before or after—invites a deep sense of completion, the feeling there really is nowhere else you need to be or go. It is stepping into sanity and, more importantly, into even greater connectedness. It is impossible to think of somewhere else as being better, because the grass is vividly green exactly where you are. And if you don't do this now, then when?